On December 25, 2020, Thai startup mu Space held a soft opening of its spacecraft factory – the primary in Thailand – a prototype that may grow to be the premise for a bigger, full-fledged spacecraft factory expected to be built this yr.
The spacecraft factory under construction shall be medium-sized and shall be used to supply and assemble Thailand’s first spacecraft, a multi-functional, reusable spaceplane-like vehicle. The company also plans to supply parts for satellites, locally manufactured GPS systems, an area data center and more. To achieve this, mu Space will use funds raised through its Series B round that was raised earlier this yr.
Said CEO Varayuth Yenbamroong: “The recently raised fund shall be used for the rapid construction of a giant factory to supply and assemble Thailand’s first spacecraft together with satellite parts and industrial spacecraft for home affairs, communications and national security, reminiscent of the establishment of a locally manufactured GPS (Global Positioning System), robotic tests, tests of autonomous systems for unmanned vehicles to be used within the mission to the Moon. The factory shall be equipped with a 5G communication system. “It may even function a platform for the event of ‘Space IDC’ technology, with plans to check ‘Space IDC’ (Space Internet Data Center) simulations in the primary quarter of 2021.”
“Space IDC” services, i.e. Space Internet Data Center, is a project created jointly by “mu Space” Corp. and TOT Public Company Limited, whose aim is to supply data center services with a server situated in space.
“mu Space” plans to initially construct 11 gateway stations in Bangkok to support its upcoming low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, while preparing to propose as much as 8 projects to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in early 2021.
source: spacetechasia.com
